One thing that has always baffled me is the stark difference in the amount of student-to-teacher interaction during a class session. Allow me to explain what I mean by this.
I am sure you’ll have been to tutorials with students of Indian nationality. Have you’ll ever noticed that quite a number of these Indians tend to be more “interactive” during class? And by “interactive” I mean that they tend to show less hesitation to either pose a question or respond to the tutor’s questions. This habit, I believe, stems from the Indian educational system. I studied in India for thirteen years. In India, by the time the tutor (or teacher, as we address them) gets to finish her question, the vast majority of the class would have raised their hands yearning for the chance to respond. And mind you, not all of us always knew the right answer. Yet, we always had an itch for our opinion or comment to be heard. Having studied under such an environment in five different schools, in different parts for India, I had assumed this to be the norm in every school.
Little did I know that I was in for a surprise. When I shifted to Singapore, during the first 2-3 weeks in my secondary school, I would instinctively raise my hand, eager to answer any question posed by the tutor. Neither did I hesitate to clear my query or request the tutor to repeat a concept or principle which I had not understood. This all may make me sound demanding but this was out of habit. By participating in all these, I am showing my interest and hence in an indirect way showing respect to the tutor. But soon I began to notice that my classmates rarely attempted to respond to the tutor. And this was in spite of having the tutorial answer in their hands. This utterly puzzled me. I could not comprehend why my classmates would not answer.
And I believe, this is not just my secondary school or, to a lesser extent, my junior college. I have spoken to many of my Singaporean friends about this and they are either guilty themselves or have come across such similar scenarios.
Here’s my question; why would you not offer to answer a question if you have the answer with you? Why would you not let the tutor know that you do not follow what he is saying? And worse, choose to complain about how incompetent he is at teaching? It can't be indifference towards class discussion, right? I have tried speculating many possible reasons for this. Maybe this is just the norm. Maybe it is the fear of saying the wrong thing. This anxiousness may come from the cautious tendency many Singaporeans have. Maybe it is the fear of being jeered at for “talking” too much during lecture. So those who want to get the ball rolling may start feeling like they are gossiped about and hence may quite down. Maybe it is purely out of respect. Maybe they do not want to interrupt the class by asking a question; the answer for which, they believe, their classmates know. Or maybe it is their inner belief that if they go home and read up on their own, they will eventually understand it. Such an independent streak and self-belief is honed at a very young age by many Singaporeans. I do not mean to offend anyone from this post. It is just my observation and my (possibly ignorant) opinion.
Unfortunately or not, over the years I have began to follow suit and have drastically reduced my “input” during a tutorial. Even though I may have accepted and adopted this norm, I have yet to fully comprehend it. Enlighten me please with your comments on this.
Sorry, just realised, the post went a little too long..
ReplyDeleteHi Lalitha,
ReplyDeleteBeing 'guilty' of what you had accused about us Singaporeans, maybe I could share what I think are possible reasons behind this.
Firstly, like you said, many of us probably do not stop a lecturer or a tutor in the middle of what they are saying out of respect for the teacher and the classmates in general. There may be the feeling that everyone else understood what was being said, and if I raise the question, I may end up wasting everybody's time. Have you ever felt irritated with somebody who asked a lot of simple questions (or, as we like to call it, stupid questions) and unnecessarily slowed down the pace of the class? Thus, with this in mind, many of us prefer to clear our doubts at the end of the class privately with the lecturer.
Another probable reason is the fear of embarrassing ourselves (or, as we call it, "don't want to lose face"). If we asked a simple question, we may be thought of as being dumb. If we eagerly answered everything, we may be labeled as the know-it-all, be deemed to be trying to become the teacher's pet, or thought of as being arrogant. If we offer the wrong answer, we may be thought of as being smart alecks. With so many potentially nasty consequences in mind, many students end up choosing to protect themselves from being put in a vulnerable situation.
Ultimately, it may be due to our unwillingness to stand out unnecessarily from the crowd, and instead focus only on ourselves. After all, the GCE O and A Level examinations do not take into account how much you have contributed in class! The easier alternative is to sit quietly through the class, note down our doubts, have them clarified outside the class, and prepare ourselves well for the exams. Probably sounds a little selfish, but this is just speculation on my part.
Hi Lalitha,
ReplyDeleteI can’t help but agree with your observation. I also agree fully with what Ronnie has commented. He really did a good job defending the Singaporean point of view. I would like to draw your attention to the foreigners studying here. Although coming from different backgrounds, we can see that most foreign students (maybe with the exception of some Indian, no discrimination intended here) have also assimilated the habit of keeping quite in class.
Not a Singaporean myself, I have to say that I have absorbed this culture. In Malaysia, we students do give responses when asked questions, although not as enthusiastically as the Indians. At the beginning of JC, I was still one of those that will put up my hand and give an answer. But as time progresses, I started becoming quieter. As nobody in the class is answering, it feels awkward to always be the one talking. And of course the fear of being labelled if you say something that made you sound silly (and irritating your classmates at the same time) or come across as being too ‘cleaver’ or a ‘show-off’. It is easier then to just say nothing and listen intently to the teacher instead.
Most people would usually want to feel like they belong within the community and not stand out like a sore thumb. Trying to conform to society usually means adopting the local culture, which is what I have done when I choose to just stay quiet and not draw attention to myself. Like the saying goes, when in Rome, do what the Romans do. Similarly, when foreign students study here, they will gradually pick up the culture here. So following and accepting the norm is just part of conforming yourself to the society.
Hey Lalitha,
ReplyDeletealthough being Singaporean, I used to ask questions when I had genuine doubts. However, having been through the system since a child I naturally stopped asking questions by the time I hit JC. And it was for all the above mentioned reasons by Jonathan and Ronnie.
However, I believe keeping quiet is not a healthy way to learn in class. Singaporean students have become pretty non-responsive as a result of passive learning in class. I remember my tutors in JC used to wait for minutes just to get a response out of the class. Being embarrassed to ask questions has also made students embarrassed to answer questions thrown at them. This, imo is not the way a student should develop. Essentially, the point of a class is to have interactive lessons! Asking too many questions can be annoying yes, but having a lesson go one way (ie from teacher to student) is not ideal either.
Cheers,
Jiv
Hey Lalitha,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting question. If put in a situation where I had the answer to the question, I think I would not answer unless I was called upon. This would be the norm for me unless the class was already an interactive one to begin with.
Of course clearing my doubt, or asking a question would be a totally different issue. However, I still cannot give a good answer why I would not offer to give my answer. One possible reason could be because there was never a huge emphasis on having an interactive class. I also agree with the points mentioned by Jon and Ronnie.
Sometimes I also feel that when teachers tend to use the word "volunteer", people never actually volunteer. I am not too sure if they are afraid of volunteering because of the task involved or the way people would perceive them if the really did volunteer.
This is a fascinating post, Lalitha, reflecting a keen observation and generating lots of useful feedback. I think you accurately address the most obvious reason for students being comfortable and feeling inclined to giving input or asking questions: educational norms. But what might lie beneath those norms? What makes an educational behavioral norm a norm in the first place?
ReplyDeleteAnother variable might be the size of classes, or not? Certainly in a small class students might have more opportunities for interaction and contribution. Anyone might be intimidated by speaking in front of a large group.
In any case, thanks for this effort.